Ukur Will Not Be Allowed To Read The Budget – Muturi

Treasury cabinet secretary Ukur Yatani will not read the 3.31 trillion shillings budget next month as it was anticipated until president Kenyatta approves the Division of Revenue Bill 2021, said National Speaker Justin Muturi.

Treasury CS Ukur Yatani on Monday announced that the 2022/2023 financial year budget statement will be released on April 7, 2022, two months earlier to pave way for lawmakers to approve expenditure before their term ends.

“This is to notify the general public that the Budget Statement for the FY 2022/23 will be delivered by the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Planning in the National Assembly on Thursday, 7th April 2022 from 3: 00p.m,” Mr. Yatani said in a notice on Monday.

Speaker Justin Muturi said the action will be illegal if the senate will have not finished deliberations on the bill and presented it to the head of state for approval.

The bill gives out guidelines on how the Executive, National Assembly, and Senate will share revenue in the next financial year beginning July 2022. Muturi said that it is mandatory for the constitution which dictates how the resources will be shared among the arms of government to be approved before the budget is read.

Failure to honor the constitution will lead to a cash crisis for government activities in the next financial year.

The ceiling for the executive’s budget has been put at 2.02 trillion shillings which are 6.97 percent more than the initial 1.89 trillion estimates for the current financial year ending June.

Parliament’s budget has been raised 1.57 percent to Sh38.48 billion, while Judiciary’s is up 5.39 percent to Sh18.88 billion. Expenditure for counties remains at 370billion shillings unchanged from the current budget

Mr. Muturi said the House Business Committee (HBC), the top decision organ that sets the day-to-day agenda of the House, has advised the Treasury to lobby the Senate to pass the Division of Revenue Bill as passed by the National Assembly.

The treasury has been struggling over the years to meet targets in its fiscal consolidation program which largely focuses on cutting down expenditure, especially on hospitality, training, and travel as well as enhancing tax collection.